Love
by mystic moogle
Summary: The Organization members are acting strange today. Axel knows why. Roxas, however, remains entirely oblivious. Their usual rendezvous at the Clock Tower won't be too different... right? [For AkuRoku Day]


_(Formerly known as 8xGot it memorizedx8)_

**A/N:** Hello! mystic moogle here again with a fic for AkuRoku Day.

This is actually an RP that I did with my friend from AkuRoku Day 2013, but I wanted to post something for them regardless. I was (mainly) Axel and she was (mainly) Roxas, but we did do a bit of mixing.

Please don't take it too seriously; it's purely for the humor and fluffs. Although any comments would be much appreciated! :)

**Disclaimer:** All characters belong to Squeenix.

* * *

Roxas was sitting all by his lonesome in the Grey Room, waiting impatiently for Axel to return from his mission. All of the other Organization members had been giving him funny looks all day, discreet little snickers and twinkling eyes, but he couldn't figure out why. What was so special about today?

Even Xion couldn't stop giggling, and she'd even gone so far as to insist that she miss out on coming to the clock tower today. She'd insisted that it just _had_ to be him and Axel—_alone_. He leaned back into the sofa with a confused sigh, trying to ignore the other members sniggering at him from the far side of the room.

They were immediately silenced by the _click clack_ of leather boots and an onslaught of familiar red hair, and they broke out into wide-eyed whispers as the Flurry of Dancing Flames sauntered towards his friend. The redhead raised an eyebrow at the unusual gathering of Nobodies watching him; apparently he hadn't updated his agenda recently, 'cause he had no idea what the _hell_ was going on. Looks like it was time to lay low.

"Heya, Roxas." Axel nonchalantly clapped a hand on the boy's shoulder, flashing him a pearly smile. "Ready to head out?"

A couple of stifled giggles broke out from the corner, then abruptly died the second Axel's eyes landed on them. How many were there, anyway? Xigbar, Xaldin, Vexen, Lexaeus, Zexion, Luxord, Marluxia, Larxene—even Naminé. And why the heck was Demyx giving him a thumbs up? He shot the sitarist a death glare, receiving an 'eep' in return and a quick wave of a flag that read: '8/13 FTW!'

Axel's brow twitched, as his eyes hit the calendar on the back wall. A look of instant realization washed over his features, and then quickly disappeared. Oh…. _Oh. _Well, damn those conniving little not-beings to the seven regions of _hell. _

"I'm gonna assume Xion's not coming today?" he casually asked, and it wasn't a question. The raven-haired Nobody was nowhere to be found, and now he knew _exactly_ why.

Roxas blinked big blue eyes up at Axel in confusion. "Yeah..." he breathed, wondering how his best friend had already known about Xion. The blond boy took in his friend's jittery behavior and pouted. So even Axel was acting strange today, no doubt in on the secret that everyone seemed to be hiding from him. He stood up brusquely and opened up a portal.

"Let's go," Roxas said, fully intending to question his friend once they arrived at the clock tower.

"Way ahead of you on that one," Axel murmured, allowing his friend to enter the portal first. He quickly glanced over towards the other members. Naminé was holding up a drawing of him and Roxas holding hands, smiling expectantly as she tapped the crude black smudge where their hands were interlocked. She circled it for emphasis, and Demyx took it upon himself to grab the nearest Organization member's hand and demonstrate it for the redhead, holding up (a very unenthusiastic) Zexion's hand in the air like it was some kind of prize. Axel rolled his eyes at the bunch of idiots and disappeared into the portal, hoping to finally get some peace and quiet.

* * *

The two found themselves on the Clock Tower as usual, crimson fading into fluffy clouds as they sat down on the edge. Axel tried to purge his mind of everything he had seen in the last couple minutes (keyword being _tried_) and just pretend it was another normal evening.

"So how'd work go today?" he asked offhandedly. "Saïx still on your case 'bout that last mission?" Roxas was giving him one of _those_ looks, as if Axel had set his dead cat on fire or something and wanted a damn good explanation for it. Which he didn't have, since he never in a million years saw this coming… or so he told himself.

Roxas glared back at his comrade. He could see right through Axel's little act and he wouldn't stand for it. "Axel, tell me what's up," he said, getting straight to the point. He noticed his friend look away quickly and stood up for extra emphasis. "Axel!"

"Calm down, calm _down_," the redhead said reassuringly, hoping to appease the incensed blond beside him. "It's nothing to get all riled up over. Just some running joke the other members made up in their free time or something." Not that Axel minded that much, actually. In fact, he found it somewhat amusing—though that didn't mean he wanted to literally spend _years_ explaining it to his dense friend.

"A... joke?" Roxas questioned. Well, he supposed that would explain all the subtle giggles he had been seeing. He slumped against the side of the clock tower and slid down, rethinking his whole perception of the day. So everything was all a joke...

"So, what is it? What's the joke?" he asked and turned to his best friend, anger melting into enthusiasm.

Axel scratched his head sheepishly, figuring he'd just tell the boy and get it over with. Maybe if he played it off like an actual joke he'd be able to slip past this without being bombarded by ten thousand questions.

"Today's supposed to be… _our_ day," he said simply, deciding to keep it vague. Roxas stared at him with a blank expression.

"Y'know… 8/13, August 13th? Ring any bells in that head of yours, Roxas?" The blond's gaze remained fixated on him, and Axel took the hint, a playful smile crawling onto his lips. "It's our numbers combined together, smart stuff. So that means we've got this day to ourselves." The redhead wanted to slap himself for revealing all this pointless information, but _damn_… he swore every time he looked into those hypnotic blue eyes, his mind just went off on its own somewhere.

Roxas blinked. "Ohh, so you mean, like, we get this day to just hang out with each other and no one else will bother us?" the blond smiled in comprehension. "That's so awesome! I feel kind of bad for Xion though... oh, but even she seemed happy when she was telling me she wasn't coming today! She's such a great friend, letting us do this and all. I wish I'd known though, or else I would've planned something! Oh well, there's always next year, and the one after that, and the one after that." The blond turned his smile to the sunset, content with the promise of having his best friend all to himself, even if only for a day.

"But, Roxas…" He was staring expectantly at his best friend, surprisingly dissatisfied by the pending end to their discussion. "That's not exactly…" Axel trailed off, and he suddenly had no idea what the hell he was saying. Why was he even bothering to complicate things? He shook his head as if to clear his mind.

"Do you remember that conversation we had about love? It's sort of…" Axel scratched the back of his head again, the one nervous habit he couldn't grow out of. "Like that." He cursed under his breath. The words were coming out quicker than his mind could process—something only the small blond could make him do.

"Love...?" Roxas tried to recall their little heart-to-heart. He still didn't fully grasp the concept, but the blond thought he understood its implications a little more since their last chat. Roxas thought back to what Axel had taught him and frowned, suddenly remembering a snippet of the conversation. "But, Axel, you said we need hearts to love!" Roxas turned to his companion, the blond's eyes filled with worry.

It took him a moment to register what Roxas had said; the only thing his mind was currently registering were those deep baby blues staring at him, written with concern. Axel immediately broke out of his trance and shifted to face his friend. Their gloved fingers brushed against each other.

"Exactly my point," he stated under his casual facade, trying to get himself out of the hole he had dug. "That's why this whole thing is a running joke in the first place. Right, Roxas?" That previous urge to slap himself was starting to become very tempting. Although that wasn't the only thing that was beginning to tempt him…

Roxas frowned and crossed his arms, turning back to the once pleasant sunset. "Well, I don't think it's very funny," he grumbled, "Pretending we have hearts and all. I mean, none of them can feel anything either! How can they mock us for something they lack too?"

Sighing, Axel returned to his level-headed state of mind and leaned back. "Lighten up," he advised, a wry grin on his lips. "And the word 'mock' is a bit too harsh for my liking. I'd say it's more like… being supportive." The grin on his lips formed into a smirk. Maybe he was liking where this whole '8/13' business was going after all…

"Do you mean that the others are being supportive...of us being in love?" Roxas mulled the idea over in his mind, thinking of all its implications and consequences. Love... Axel? Just putting those words together made him feel dizzy, and the confused blond brought his hand down to clutch the edge of the clock tower to steady himself, unwittingly bringing his fingers within close proximity of his companions' again.

Roxas knew of course, that feeling any type of emotion was impossible—Axel himself had just confirmed it, and he knew _everything_—but still the blond couldn't stop himself from remembering all the evenings at the clock tower, all the delicious sea salt ice cream, all the laughter and fun and pure joy...

"Axel, even though we don't have hearts... I think I love you," the blond calmly stated, blue eyes softening as he gazed out into the red sunset before him. He felt his friend stiffen beside him and his eyes widened when he fully registered what he just said. What was he thinking?! He wasn't making any sense! Roxas shook his head in attempt to clear his mind, and he quickly glanced at his friend's shocked expression before looking down at his shoes, not able to meet Axel's eyes. "I mean, if I had a heart I would. But, y'know, we can't—_I_ can't-since Nobodies don't have hearts and all. It's impossible," he blurted out, trying to cover his mistake.

Axel's eyes widened and his breath hitched in his throat as he stared down at his friend; all traces of his lascivious façade had diminished. He gazed out into the eventide sunset with unspoken thoughts and an expression that was indecipherable.

"You're right." His tone was piercingly matter-of-fact as he shook his head. "We don't have hearts; we're Nobodies; we can't feel a single damn thing because our lives are the epitome of nothing-ness. And any emotion we _think_ we feel is a downright lie." Axel took a sharp breath and his gloved fingers curled instinctively into his palms.

"But when I'm out here with you, Roxas, watching the sunset fade…" The redhead shifted his gaze, and his smoldering green eyes were filled with an intensity so fervid Roxas momentarily forgot how to breathe, "…you make me remember what love feels like." Not bothering to wait another second, Axel crushed their lips together and kissed him like their world was turning upside down and they were drowning—deep, deep, deep from the pits of their shadowy hearts, lips locked and tongues tasting and hands tangled in the other's hair.

They eventually broke away, breathing deeply.

"For all a shell's words are worth, I think I love you too." Axel grinned and kissed him again.

* * *

**A/N: **Eheh. And there you have it. Happy AkuRoku Day! Please comment if you liked it, or were amused by it! xD Thank you for reading! :D


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